Health, environment, education win big in '07 Legislature

Lawmakers say no to the Sonics, yes to families

By CHRIS MCGANN, P-I CAPITOL CORRESPONDENT

Published
10:00 pm PDT, Sunday, April 22, 2007

Between the passage of the capital and operating budgets, Speaker of the House Frank Chopp leaves a democratic caucus session where he and his wife were given a three-week trip to Spain by House Democrats and staff in appreciation for all Chopp's hard work during the session. less

Between the passage of the capital and operating budgets, Speaker of the House Frank Chopp leaves a democratic caucus session where he and his wife were given a three-week trip to Spain by House Democrats and ... more

Photo: Meryl Schenker/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Photo: Meryl Schenker/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

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Between the passage of the capital and operating budgets, Speaker of the House Frank Chopp leaves a democratic caucus session where he and his wife were given a three-week trip to Spain by House Democrats and staff in appreciation for all Chopp's hard work during the session. less

Between the passage of the capital and operating budgets, Speaker of the House Frank Chopp leaves a democratic caucus session where he and his wife were given a three-week trip to Spain by House Democrats and ... more

Photo: Meryl Schenker/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Health, environment, education win big in '07 Legislature

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OLYMPIA -- Through the prism of Democratic values, the 2007 Legislature provided a cornucopia of progressive new policy and concrete investments to help college students, gay couples, teachers and Puget Sound fish, to name just a few.

But it wasn't until the closing hours that Democrats succeeded in one of their toughest goals: ensuring that parents can take time off to care for their newborn children.

Lawmakers wrapped up the 2007 legislative session Sunday with last-hour compromises on paid family leave, the state pension system and the mandatory assessment test for high school graduation. Then they passed their $33.4 billion budget Sunday night and adjourned for the year.

The spending plan's emphasis on education, health and environmental investments instead of tax breaks clearly reflect the majority Democrats' priorities. However, the new bill establishing a five-week paid family leave is perhaps the Democrats' most notable legislation this year.

The measure is the culmination of a battle that has raged for years, led by the union interests that are the Democrats' strongest supporters. As Democrats increased their majorities to near record levels, paid family leave became a question of "if not now, when?"

The compromise bill, which passed out of the Senate 26-22 on Sunday, allows workers to take paid leave to care for newborn or adopted children. If Gov. Chris Gregoire signs the bill as expected, it would provide the leave beginning in October 2009.

Where the money to pay the parents $250 a week will come from remains unsettled. Senate Bill 5659 calls for a task force to come up with a recommendation for funding -- which caused heartburn among some former supporters but was accepted as reasonable by the measure's key proponents.

"The way the House has gutted this critical piece of legislation is a disgrace," he said. "This is another example of a hard vote the Senate took earlier this session only to have the House weaken the bill. Eventually you just have to say, 'Enough is enough.' "

California is the only other state that provides paid family leave -- but as Washington takes it up, several others including Oregon, New York and New Jersey are considering the legislation.

After the Legislature agrees on a way to pay for the plan -- which will likely be through an employee payroll deduction or possibly an extension of the tax on liquor -- supporters want to expand the coverage to include older children, spouses, parents and the workers themselves.

The Legislature also passed an 11th-hour bill to delay math and science requirements in the Washington Assessment of Student Learning high school graduation tests to the class of 2013.

As state law stands, students in the class of 2008 would be the first group required to pass the math, writing and reading sections of the WASL in order to graduate. Passing the science section was to become an additional graduation requirement in 2010.

The House and Senate compromise bill would keep the reading and writing WASL as a graduation requirement beginning with the class of 2008. Students who do not pass the math test, but meet other graduation requirements and keep taking math courses, would be able to graduate. The measure allows the ACT, SAT and certain Advanced Placement exams to be used as alternatives if a student does not pass the reading or writing sections.

The House passed the measure 56-41, and the Senate 30-18. It now goes to Gregoire.

Gregoire's policy director, Marty Brown, said the governor would accept the delay to 2013, but would have to examine the rest of the measure before deciding whether to sign it all or veto sections, as state law allows.

Democrats also voted out a measure that would repeal a 1998 provision known as gain sharing. It was established to increase the benefits for the state pension system based on the performance of the stock market.

Over the next 25 years, the state would spend a projected $3 billion on the benefit for teachers, school employees and public employees. The repeal provides about $100 million to be used in the new biennial budget.

Lawmakers won enough support for reneging on their past promise with a new cost of living increase and improved early retirement benefits for some plans.

"While lawmakers have stated that education is their top priority, they have voted to take away nearly $100 million in promised retirement benefits for teachers and other school employees.

"At a time when the state enjoys a $2.2 billion surplus, lawmakers have further debased the provisions of one of the worst, if not the worst, pension plans for public school employees in the nation," he said. "Their action stands in sharp contrast to professed commitment to schools and the men and women who work in them."

As the Legislature wound down Sunday, most Democrats were in a festive mood.

"We are real proud of what we accomplished," said Speaker of the House Frank Chopp, D-Seattle.

Democrats presented Chopp with a three-week vacation to Spain paid for by the caucus members.

As the dust settled on the last negotiation of the session, Sen. Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, celebrated in her office Sunday with wine, chocolates and music from the band Dandy Warhols and its song "Bohemian Like You."